Embracer Group has easily been one of the most disliked companies in the gaming industry over the last two years. After a deal with Savvy Games Group, – a subsidiary of the government of Saudi Arabia – went south, it’s been laying off thousands of developers.
Chief executive officer Lars Wingefors and the rest of the c-suite have said that their only goal is to make shareholders happy, and with that mindset they’ve caused untold and irreparable damage to the games industry.
Which is why Borderlands developer Gearbox is looking to get out from under Embracer, according to a new report.
According to Kotaku, chief executive officer Randy Pitchford held a town hall meeting with staff to make them aware that the studio’s future has been decided, and more information would come later.
The decision has been to sell to another company, though who specifically is unknown. The deal is reportedly close to being to done, and the last details are being put into place.
Pitchford also supplied a statement on the report, though didn’t say much of anything beyond an expression of “delight” and feeling “humbled” that Gearbox is being talked about.
“I’m delighted that what we might be up to is interesting enough to people that you want to make a story about us for your readers. I’m honored and humbled that our company is a topic of rumor, speculation and discussion.
As always, we will be thrilled to share whenever we have projects to announce or news to share as we work hard towards our mission to entertain the world.”
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard Gearbox is on the list of companies to be sold. The last time it broke, Bloomberg reported that chief communications officer Dan Hewitt sent an email to staff saying “There are many options under consideration, including Gearbox’s transfer, taking Gearbox independent, and others. Ultimately, we’ll move ahead with whichever path is best for both Gearbox and Embracer.”
Though we don’t have a clear idea as to which company is purchasing Gearbox, it wouldn’t be too much of a surprise to see Take-Two, considering Gearbox’s maintained relationship with 2K through the Borderlands series.
Source – [Kotaku]